Pink or Blue
by Manigault
Summary: A what if story that focuses on Grissom and Sara.
1. Default Chapter

Title: Pink or Blue  
  
By: Manigault  
  
Rating: R.For language.  
  
Disclaimer: Not mine. These complicated characters belong to CBS, Atlantic- Alliance, and Anthony Zuicker.  
  
Summary: A 'what if' story. You know 'What if our fav CSI's were involved in RST and were not exactly careful'.  
  
Special Thanks: Alison, You Rock. This story probably would not make its way here if not for her encouragement and beta reading.  
  
Warning: Characters may be out of character but I got this idea in my head and felt the urge to explore it.  
  
Sara Sidle bent over the decomposing body and felt her breakfast rushing upwards to her throat. With one hand clutching her stomach and the other one clamped over her mouth she averted her eyes from her startled colleagues and fled to the closest bathroom where she flung the door shut before sprawling over the toilet.  
  
"Shit." She grasped the cold sides of the toilet bowl and heaved into its inner confines. Of all times for her to lose her breakfast. Why now? She wiped her mouth with the back of her hand and used the other hand to flush away the evidence. At first she did not hear the soft tap on the door, but she did hear the concerned voice that floated to her through the pinewood.  
  
"You okay in there, Sara?" Nick Stokes asked.  
  
"I'm fine, Nick." Sara leaned over the sink and turned on the cold water. She cupped her hands and filled the palms with the cool liquid, which she held up to her mouth before swishing it around and spitting back into the sink.  
  
Nick stood on the opposite side of the door, exchanging an anxious look with Warrick Brown who had put the camera aside and moved over to the door to stare at the hard wood. "Sara?" Warrick leaned towards the door, his voice soft and curious. "You going to stay in there all night or are you coming out anytime soon?"  
  
The door swung open and both Warrick and Nick jumped back. They stared with a mixture of concern and curiosity at their usually stoic friend and colleague, who looked anything but impassive. Sara stared back at them with a defiant air that was hard to confront as she pushed past them.  
  
"I ate something that didn't agree with me," She said with a sharpness that did not ring true, even to her own ears. "Can we drop it, you guys? We do have a scene to process."  
  
Nick and Warrick exchanged another look, before Nick attempted to make light of the situation. "At least we finished processing the bathroom before you tainted the evidence."  
  
His joke earned a chuckle from Warrick and a glare from Sara, who was busy pulling on a pair of latex gloves. Ignoring their concerned looks they finished with the body and headed back to the crime lab to begin the next step of processing the evidence they had gathered. Walking towards the blood lab, Sara spoke with a determined expression.  
  
"What happened is between us, guys, okay?" She kept her voice low so that it would not carry along the corridors. "I don't want you mentioning this to Catherine or." She grimaced. "Or Grissom." Especially Grissom, she thought to herself.  
  
"Tell me what?"  
  
All three investigators froze in their steps and slowly turned towards that voice. Gil Grissom stared back at them with a 'don't lie to me' look in his eyes, which had settled on Sara's' guilty face. Catherine Willows stood beside him, her own look fastened pointedly on Warrick and Nick. She would get the truth out of those two if Sara failed to confess. Keeping their mouths shut, both men waited for Sara to speak out, weighing why it was bothering her so much.  
  
"I had something for breakfast that did not agree with me and that is that." Sara shrugged it off and let her eyes drift from Grissom to Catherine and then back to him.  
  
"Is that it?" Grissom screwed up his face in a 'so what' expression. "You feel sick and you didn't want me to know?" He observed the dumbfounded look on Nick and Warwick's faces but kept his attention on Sara. "You were afraid that I would send you home? Is that what concerned you? You do feel better now, right?"  
  
"She threw up in the victim's bathroom," Nick pointed out, and then glared at Warrick when he felt his foot sting from a quick step on the top. "What was that for?" He asked, and watched Warrick roll his eyes and give Sara an exasperated look.  
  
"You contaminated the evidence?" Grissom's voice was incredulous. "Please tell me that you didn't do that, Sara."  
  
"I didn't.You can't." Sara stuttered over her anger at Grissom's priorities. He did not care that she had vomited, or that she must look like shit, but as long as the evidence was not contaminated. It was not that she could blame him, it concerned her as well, and if she had contaminated the evidence then she would never have forgiven herself. However, he could have shown more concern for her well-being. Without offering more information, she spun on her heel and stormed away from the surprised faces of her coworkers.  
  
Grissom stared with blank intensity after her retreating back, not sure what had transpired, and not liking it.  
  
"The evidence wasn't contaminated, Grissom, we had processed the bathroom while the police were taking their own pictures." Warrick held up several evidence bags. "I need to get these to Greg." His voice revealed his displeasure in Grissom, knowing how important Sara held his regard, and how upset she must be with him. Nick kicked himself for adding to Sara's embarrassment, and turned away from a baffled Grissom to follow Warrick to the lab.  
  
Grissom stared after them before turning to Catherine. "What did I say? Is it wrong to make sure the evidence is not contaminated? It could make or break the case."  
  
"You are kidding, right?" Catherine stared at her old friend and shook her head. "Do you think that Sara of all people would contaminate the evidence? She would have thrown up in an evidence bag before she did that."  
  
"Maybe she should have," Grissom was thoughtful. "I wonder what didn't agree with her. If she had thrown up in an evidence bag then we could have analyzed the contents and found out what was the culprit."  
  
"Now I know that you are not kidding and I can't." Catherine shook her head again, and walked away from him in the direction Sara had gone.  
  
Grissom reviewed the conversation as he proceeded to the lab to question Greg about the results of the case he and Catherine were handling. He was concerned with the fact that Sara had thrown up on the scene. In fact, for the past few days he had been concerned that she was paler than usual and her appetite had faded. When he had questioned her, she had claimed that fatigue was catching up to her and she would be fine. She was not fine, though, and he determined to figure out what was wrong.  
  
Catherine found Sara in the locker room, pulling clean clothes from her locker with angry movements. Catherine watched her for a few seconds before approaching her with a gentle question.  
  
"This isn't the first time that you have thrown up, is it, Sara."  
  
Sara froze for a second, processing the question. "No, I've thrown up quite a bit in college when I had too much to drink." The sarcasm was not lost on Catherine who decided to be direct with her friend.  
  
"Are you pregnant, Sara?"  
  
Her mouth fell open, and she turned to Catherine in shock, not knowing whether to be offended or distraught.  
  
"Why would you ask me that? People throw up all the time when they have the flu or a bad stomach due to something they ate."  
  
"I heard you retching for the past few days, when you come into work, before you went out on a case. You could have the flu, but you don't do you?"  
  
Sara stared at her in horror. Pregnant? She was an investigator but the thought was only a glimmer in her mind. One that she had pushed out of her mind almost as soon as it had entered. She had her period this month, hadn't she?  
  
"Would you like to talk about it?" Sara shook her head. "That isn't possible. I'm not pregnant." She glanced around the empty locker room as if the walls had ears. "I can't be pregnant. It would ruin everything."  
  
"I think that we should buy a pregnancy test and settle it once and for all." Catherine could not help but wonder who the father was, and who she hoped it was. Sara had been extremely secretive about her relationship and she doubted Warrick and Nick even suspected that she was in one.  
  
"I can't be, Catherine." Sara leaned her forehead against the cool metal of the locker and squeezed her eyes shut tightly. "He doesn't want children and I would be a terrible parent."  
  
Taking a deep breath, Catherine touched her friend's shoulder. "Have you discussed the possibility of children, Sara? You have heard him say that he doesn't want them?"  
  
"Not exactly." Sara thought of the times when birth control had come up between them. She was taking the pill and had once asked him if he ever considered a vasectomy.  
  
He had replied in the negative, stating that with the life he led, he had never deemed it to be necessary until now. Did she want him to get one? She was not sure and the subject had not come up in the months that followed. Careless of them both, she knew it was, but then she was on the pill. She knew the risks. He knew them. What would he say if it was true? Moving away from Catherine, she left the locker room and walked slowly towards the break room, forgetting the clothes that were clutched in her hands. She knew Catherine was walking beside her, but she did not speak to her, her mind trying to wrap itself around the possibilities. She paused in the doorway of the break room where Nick and Warrick were playing chess and Grissom. Well, Grissom was scribbling on a piece of paper, a cup of steaming coffee set before him. He looked up when they walked in and his eyes were filled with concern that was not there earlier.  
  
"What cha doing?" Catherine moved over to him and watched as he spread one big hand over the paper and blushed lightly. "Are you working on a poem?" Catherine teased, earning an irritated look.  
  
"I read poetry, Catherine, I don't write it." He waited until she moved over to the coffee pot before he motioned for Sara to join him at the table. It was with much reluctance that she settled in a chair beside him and stared at the paper he pushed towards her. A grocery list? She stared at the list of items-strawberries, blueberries, pancakes. Frowning, she looked back at him with a quirked eyebrow. Breakfast ,Grissom, her eyes questioned. Why was he listing the food she had eaten for breakfast? She darted a look at the counter where Catherine was leaning against the counter, her own eyes holding a list of questions.  
  
"I have to run out for a while, Grissom." Sara stood up with an abruptness that caught Warrick and Nick's attention. "Will you ride with me, Catherine?" It was Catherine that returned to the car with a bag gripped in her hands. Sara had her forehead pressed against the wheel of her Jeep, her stomach growling in protest of her earlier bout of sickness.  
  
"You want to return to the lab or go to my place?" Catherine asked her as she closed the door shut with a bang.  
  
"My place." Sara insisted. There was always the possibility that she was not pregnant and then all of this worry would be unnecessary. She felt her confidence returning as they entered her apartment and she bee lined to the bathroom. It was best to get this over with so that she could concentrate on her work. Catherine watched the door close before she moved to the sofa that was littered with crime books and.She picked up a book on entomology and flipped it open. It was Gil's book, a fact that made her decide to look around for other evidence. A smile flashed over her face as she pulled an object from beneath the sofa cushions. A book could be borrowed, but a tie? She recognized this one as the one she had seen some months ago, on her return from Miami. The door opened as she stuffed the tie back into the cushions. Sara walked out of the kitchen trying to forget that her life lay on a stick on the bathroom counter. Pink she was. Blue she wasn't.  
  
"Would you care for something to drink?" Sara asked Catherine, who looked like she had swallowed a canary.  
  
"If you have orange juice and vodka." Catherine laughed at the uncertain look on Sara's face. "I'll take water."  
  
After handing the water to Catherine, Sara glanced back at the bathroom. What would it be? Why did she let her future hinge on a stick that had no emotion either way?  
  
"I can look if you would like for me too?"  
  
"No." Sara walked into her bathroom and reached for the stick, her eyes closing briefly before she took deep breath.  
  
TBC  
  
(Kidding)  
  
Pink it was. Sara did not know what emotion assaulted her, but it was shock that settled over her features as she held the stick out for Catherine to see. Fear replaced the shock as she looked into Catherine's eyes.  
  
"What do I tell him?"  
  
TBC 


	2. Heart to Heart

Title: Pink or Blue

By: Manigault

Rating R

Disclaimer: Not mine, I only take pleasure in complicating their lives. 

Summary: Reactions

Special Thanks: Alison, you are wonderful. Thank you!

     Sara's eyes held a glazed look that Catherine empathized with very well. Taking her friend by the shoulder, she held her eyes with her own and laid it out on the table. 

     "Do you want this baby?" Catherine asked with a bluntness that Sara felt strike to her bones. 

     Yesterday the question would have spilled from her lips without a second thought. Today, it was not so easy to answer as she thought of how the baby was conceived; in the most wonderful relationship she had ever had the privilege of enjoying. Now she was carrying the product of that union and she was scared. 

     "Why don't you take the rest of the shift off?" Catherine suggested. "I'll cover for you with Grissom." She hesitated, but then continued. "Unless you would like to talk?" 

     "No, no." Sara waved her away, her mind a turmoil of emotion. "Thanks, Catherine, for everything." 

     When left alone, Sara sank onto her sofa and leaned back against the cushions, her eyes closed in contemplation. She thought of the first time that she had met Grissom, how drawn to him she had found herself when sitting in his lectures. He fascinated her in a manner that no other man had ever come close to achieving and that fascination had not lessened the more she had come to know him over the following years. Unconsciously, she placed her hand on her flat belly and marveled at the thought of that union growing inside of her and how it would change everything. What would he say when he found out? Would he blame her for not taking more precautions? She knew that she did not blame him. They were equals in their relationship and in their careers. This threw a wrench in the works. Their relationship would be open for attack. Eckley would have a field day. Restless, she moved from the sofa to the kitchen where she opened the refrigerator and stared into the empty depths. She had not bought groceries in weeks, practically living in Grissom's townhouse and relying much too heavily on his ability to cook. With a sigh, she decided to drive to his place. 

     "Where is Sara?" Grissom asked as Catherine joined him in the lab where he was bent over a microscope. 

     "She decided to take the rest of the shift off." Catherine replied and watched, as the news broke over him in waves of deep concern that he could not hide. 

     "Is she feeling any better? Why didn't she come back with you?" Grissom pushed back from the microscope and scowled in bewilderment. He knew that he should have followed Sara when she and Catherine had left the break room. His instincts had been to go after her and demand to know what was bothering her so much, as well as let her know that he was not angry with her for throwing up at a crime scene. He understood. Frowning, he corrected himself. He _wanted to understand. Shaking his head, he realized that Catherine had been speaking to him, answering his questions and he had missed what she said. _

     "So, she is not coming in." Catherine finished her explanation with a glare that he did not comprehend. 

     Grissom stared at her, bit his bottom lip, and then excused himself. 

     "Where are you going?" Catherine demanded, checking her mock anger. 

     Grissom paused, looked back into the lab, and then shrugged. "Out." He pulled out his cell phone as he walked to his car, determined to speak with Sara and find out what was going on. He let the phone ring until Sara's  answering machine picked up, and then hung up before he heard her ask to leave a message. With a frown, he dialed her cell phone, and again, waited while it rang without connecting him to the person he needed. Why was she not answering her cell phone? She always answered her phone. It rested on the nightstand beside his own while they slept. It lay on the bathroom counter while she bathed, or on the kitchen counter when they ate. Was she staring at it now and refusing to answer? The thought made him angry as he pulled into his town home parking space and cast a glance towards Sara's own car that occupied the guest space three rows over from his own. He let the anger fuel his steps as he opened the door and stepped inside the cool interior. Glancing around he did not see her, and his anger ebbed as his feet led him to the bedroom where he found her lying on their bed, one hand covering her eyes, the other splayed across her stomach. He stared at her for a second before pulling a chair over beside the bed and easing into it where he could keep a closer eye on her while she breathed, her hand rising and falling on her belly. His eyes narrowed slightly as he stared at that hand and a crazy idea began pushing against the conscious recesses of his mind. Sara had been sick for several days. She tried to brush it off, convincing him that it was a virus that was making its circuit around the lab.  Now he was not so sure. He leaned forward, his elbows resting on his knees as his eyes moved up to her face. Startled, he almost jumped back as he found her soulful brown eyes regarding him with love and something else; fear? Why was she afraid of him? Pushing back the thought that was trying to make itself known, he leaned forward again, and smiled. 

     "Feeling any better?"

     Sara stretched and turned to look at the alarm clock. "It isn't time for you to be home, yet, Gil." 

     "I was worried about you." Grissom reached for the hand that was still lying across her stomach and watched as she flinched. His eyes narrowed with suspicion. "What is going on here, Sara? I thought that we could tell each other everything." 

     Sara nodded. Pushing herself up with the palms of her hands, she scooted back against the headboard and stared at her hands that rested on the tops of her knees. "I want to tell you, only I don't know how you will react and that scares the shit of me." 

     Risking a glance, she took in the concerned blue eyes that bored into her face with a familiar intensity. He did not speak with words, but those eyes spoke volumes. Holding those eyes with her heart in her own, she spoke honestly. 

     "I'm having your baby, Gil." She watched the emotions play across his face in quick progression; doubt, comprehension, anger, fear. He was processing the past few days when she had retched in the bathroom and then passed it off as the flu. She watched him lean back in the chair and stare at her with open amazement. 

     "When?" He asked, and then shook his head. "When did this happen? We are always so careful." 

     "Not always." Sara felt anger with him for reacting the way he was, but she also felt disappointment and did not know why. What did she expect him to say, or to do for that matter? Sweep her off her feet and promise her the world? Neither one of them had ever planned to have children, absolutely comfortable with being together for the unforeseeable future. Then why had she not suggested that he have a vasectomy or why had she not taken better precautions against this situation? If she was honest with herself then, she could not say that she had ever ruled children out of her future. She also had to admit that the thought of sharing this part of herself with the man she loved was rather alluring. When she realized that he was still staring at her with a bewildered look she scooted to the opposite side of the bed and made her way to the door. 

     "Where are you going?" Grissom stood up and turned towards the door as she paused in the doorway. 

     "The kitchen." Sara placed her hand on her stomach and tilted her head towards the outer room. "I'm hungry and I think that you could use the time to sort out your thoughts." 

     Grissom watched her walk out of the room and wondered at the fear that had leapt into his mind when he thought for a minute that she was walking out of his life. He was not prepared to be a father, but he was not prepared to lose Sara either. He moved to the kitchen where he watched her taking lettuce from the refrigerator. Habit led him to join her in making a salad; tomatoes, olives, and an assortment of other salad musts found their way onto the counter. They worked in silence, the tension thick as each one moved around the kitchen. Finally, when Grissom could take it no longer, he felt a rush of words spew from his mouth. 

     "So, you are planning on having this baby?"

     He watched her hands freeze on the salad dressing cap as she swung around to face him. "You don't want me to have it?"

     Grissom had the distinct feeling that his future with Sara rested solely on his reply to this question, but he could not form the words that he knew she wanted to hear. 

     "I never planned on having children, Sara, I don't know what to feel." He watched her face fall and wondered how he could have ignored this aspect of life for so long. Only once in the months they had been involved had he broached the subject and now he wanted to go back and hash out something that he was certain all couples must discuss at some point in their lives. Why had they not discussed this? "I want whatever you want, Sara, and I'll support whatever decision you make." He felt his words would satisfy her until he could sort out his own emotions but by the look on her face, that was not to be. 

     Sara felt sharp disappointment course through her again, and slowly continued opening the cap on the dressing as she processed his words. "I'm having this baby, Griss, and I would like for you to be part of its life." The declaration surprised her almost as much as it did Grissom, but she felt strongly about the commitment she was asking. What he did next would alter their future for better or worse. 

TBC


	3. Reactions

Title: Pink or Blue  
  
By: Manigault  
  
Rating: R for language  
  
Summary: Heart to Heart  
  
Special thanks: Alison! You rock!  
  
  
  
Sara could almost hear the wheels spinning and whirling inside Grissom's head as he processed her statement. Sara had made up her mind about her stand on having this baby. His baby. That thought terrified him more than he could express. Instead of responding, he reached for the salad bowl and turned to the counter, hoping she would give him the space he needed to sort this situation out before he said something that would be impossible to take back. He heard her move softly around him towards the counter where she eased onto a bar stool, and began to pick around in her own salad. He watched as her delicate fingers, wrapped around the fork, picked through the salad, pushing olives to one side of the bowl, cherry tomatoes to the other. He recognized the pattern as being one that meant Sara was deep in thought, physically with him, yet miles away. Clearing his throat, he asked her if she was not hungry, and then bit his bottom lip as she glared over at him, then went back to sorting her salad as if he had not spoken. Undaunted, Grissom ate several bites, forcing himself to swallow over the thickening of his throat as he watched Sara from the corner of his eye. When he could not tolerate the silence any longer, he carefully placed his fork beside the bowl and swiveled around on the stool until he was facing Sara's profile.  
  
"You need to eat something if you want to keep the fetus supplied with nutrients."  
  
Sara stabbed her fork into a tomato and turned to look at him before she popped the juicy fruit into her mouth. She chewed slowly while mentally berating herself for giving him such a hard time. She could not say what she expected from him, but she yearned for something on a more personal level than nutrient fulfillment.  
  
Grissom nodded his head slightly, as if deciding some internal conflict. He opened his mouth to speak, and then closed it with a shake of his head. Sara felt his confusion and wanted to assure him that it would be okay, but she could not bring herself to say those words, not yet. She watched him move from the counter and walk towards the balcony with an unsteady gait. The weight on his shoulders was massive at the best of times and now it was blatantly pulling him away from her, a feeling that she could not accept.  
  
Grissom leaned over the balcony, his gaze fixated on the lights of Vegas that spread out before his town home. He could sense Sara standing inside the threshold of the balcony door, staring a hole through his back, but he did not want to argue with her, and he did not want her to leave. He felt her hand rub the middle of his spine, a comforting motion that resulted in his closing his eyes until only the sensation of her warmth swept through him. Wrapping her arms around his back, she leaned her head on his shoulder and spoke softly into his body.  
  
"It's okay, Gil, I do understand if you don't want to be this baby's father." She hugged him to her before moving to stand beside him. "I don't have to tell anyone who the father is, and we can go on being friends."  
  
Grissom heard the words and felt the pang they caused as they swept through his chest and settled in the depths of his heart. "I would never not be part of my child's life." He whispered, keeping his eyes averted from her face. "I know how much it hurts for your dad to choose to opt out of your life. I could never do that."  
  
In the months she and Grissom had been on a more intimate level, Sara had never been able to pull out much information concerning his dad. He dodged the questions, only speaking of his mom who had raised him with a firm, yet loving hand. Sara reached out to wrap her hand on his right hand, that was gripping the balcony rail with such intensity she feared it would snap his fingers. Visibly relaxing beneath her touch, Grissom turned his head slightly, until he could see her concerned face.  
  
"There is something else that bothers me, Sara, you have to have the same fears." He kept his eyes on her face. "You should have the same fears when you realize the possible future this baby has in store."  
  
Baffled by his words, Sara felt a jolt of fear slice through her, as she wondered what in the world he could be referring.  
  
"My mom was deaf, Sara." He pulled his hand from beneath hers and pointed at his chest. "You know what I'm going through myself. If you look at my genealogy line, you would find that it is not uncommon through my family's history. Why would I elect to bring a child into that environment?"  
  
"Otosclerosis, Grissom." Sara turned him to face her as she reached up to touch his ears with both of her trembling hands. "It is not something that strikes fear into me, and certainly not a condition that will make me reject this child." She kissed his chin, and smiled into his watering eyes. "Is that why you think your dad left you? That and the fact that your mom was deaf? You have to see how far the treatment for this condition has come since you were born, and I can't imagine where it will lead when our child is your age." She kissed his lips, and felt them turn into a slight smile.  
  
"I suppose there are other reasons I worry about bringing a child into this world." He felt his fears spill from his mouth and watched her as her eyes twinkled. "I'm serious, Sara, this world is filled with perils, and you see them everyday." \  
  
"I'm thinking that if this is a girl, I can't wait to see how overprotective you are when she starts dating."  
  
A horrified look swept over his usually expressionless face, and his mouth fell open. "Is that a double standard, Sara, because my son isn't dating either until he is thirty." He shook his head again, "It is not something to scoff at, Sara, there are nuts out there."  
  
"There are some crazy shits in the world, but I hardly think that everyone will be out to get him, or her."  
  
Grissom felt a shiver slide over his spine as he touched her belly. "There are more immediate problems, you know."  
  
"Telling everyone." Sara responded, and then added, "Telling the Sheriff and Ecklie."  
  
"Ecklie will try to have you moved to dayshift." Grissom frowned. "Maybe you will want to go to dayshift? It would be easier for you, especially once the baby is here."  
  
Sara was grateful that he did not suggest she move to a safer job, although the idea of working with Ecklie and no longer being in Grissom's captivating presence made her shudder. "No, thanks." She patted his hand that was still pressed against her stomach. "This baby is a Grissom slash Sidle, so he or she will have to get used to wacky schedules."  
  
Grissom smiled at the thought. "There is another issue we have to work out." Like how do I broach the subject of marriage? Should I buy a ring first and propose in an old-fashioned sense of the word, or have we passed that stage? His heart fell as Sara responded, and not in the manner he would have hoped.  
  
"Where we live?" Sara nodded, happier than words could describe that Grissom was hashing all of this out with her, and not walking away from the details. "I thought that we could live here, if that's okay with you? We could make the spare room a nursery, and see how that goes for now."  
  
Narrowing his eyes, he teased her in a slightly accusatory manner. "You already planned all of this out before you knew what I would say."  
  
"Never," Sara denied. "I always have a contingency for all possibilities."  
  
"Ahhh," Grissom moved his hand from her stomach, leaving Sara with a bereft feeling until he bent towards her and captured her lips with his own. "Now how and when do we let the rest of the team know?"  
  
TBC  
  
Side Note: I had to add the schedule thing, because I've known so many people that "assume" the baby will follow their schedules only to have reality wop them upside the head. :0 


	4. Resolution

Title: Pink or Blue By: Manigault Rating: R Summary: Resolution Disclaimer: Not mine. These fun characters belong to CBS, Atlantic- Alliance, and the fantastic Anthony Zuicker. Special Thanks: Alison, VIgirl, I can't say it enough! Thank you for your wonderful beta comments.  
  
The break room was empty as Grissom made his way into the room, a newspaper tucked beneath one arm and his eyes fastened on the coffeepot. The bitter liquid did nothing to relieve the tension he felt throughout his body as he settled onto the sofa, opened up the newspaper to the crossword puzzle section, and pulled a pen from his pocket. Five minutes had not elapsed when he heard a familiar voice speak from behind him.  
  
"You have been staring at that same word since I walked into the room."  
  
Grissom looked over his shoulder at Catherine, who was now moving around the sofa towards the coffee pot. He did not respond to her comment, but went back to working on the crossword puzzle. With a sigh, he admitted to himself that he was not working on this puzzle, and did not have the first inkling what any of the answers were. His mind was on the upcoming confrontation that he and Sara planned to have with the team. He watched as Catherine sat in a chair facing him, sipping coffee as she watched his face.  
  
"What is it?" Grissom finally asked when the question in her eyes became too much for him.  
  
"You spoke with Sara?" Catherine asked, trying to sound indifferent.  
  
Grissom felt a smile tug the corner of his lips. Sara had told him that Catherine knew about the baby, but not the identity of its father. Knowing his old and dear friend, she had put the pieces together and suspected the obvious.  
  
Removing his eyeglasses, Grissom placed them in his pocket, and faced Catherine with a curious look.  
  
"What do you think you know, Cat?" He watched her squirm as she narrowed her eyes and stared back at him.  
  
"That depends on whether you spoke with her since she left work yesterday."  
  
"Yes." Grissom said definitively. "And that is why she is searching for Warrick and Nick as we speak. We have something to share with them."  
  
A warm smile lit Catherine's face and she jumped up from her chair, spilling coffee on the floor as she rushed to give Grissom a hug. It was at that instant that Warrick, Nick, and Sara walked into the break room.  
  
"Whoa! What's going on?" Warrick asked with a slightly amused smile that Nick mirrored. Sara closed the door, walked around them, and settled on the sofa beside Grissom. She looked up at Catherine and returned the warm smile as Warrick and Nick stared at the scene with confusion. Nick noticed that Sara was practically sitting on top of Grissom and he was not shifting over or looking nervous at her proximity. That was weird.  
  
Warrick folded his arms and repeated, "What is going on here?"  
  
Catherine ignored the spilt coffee and stared at the two men as each of them sported confused looks. She waited for Grissom or Sara to speak, wondering which one would be the instigator.  
  
Sara and Grissom exchanged a significant look before Sara turned towards the two men and smiled. "We have something to share with you, something that will change all of our lives."  
  
Warrick laughed softly. "Well, unless you tell us you are pregnant then I can't think of anything that would change our lives as well." The laughter ebbed as he stared at the solemn faces that stared back. "You aren't." Warrick's question trailed off as the image of Sara puking into the crime scene toilet came to mind.  
  
"You are pregnant?" Nick asked this with such disbelief that Sara scooted closer to Grissom, and nodded. Nick followed her movement and the shock increased. "With Grissom?"  
  
A defiant Grissom narrowed his eyes at the young CSI. "And is that so hard to believe Nick? This is my baby and Sara and I plan on raising him together."  
  
Shock was still warring with comprehension as Nick sorted out this new information. He stood by silently as Warrick leaned forward and held out his hand to Grissom, who took it gratefully. "Congratulations, Gris." He turned to Sara and planted a warm kiss on her forehead. "You two are full of surprises."  
  
"When do you plan on getting married?" Nick blurted. "That is why you told us so soon, isn't it? Sara isn't even showing yet and." It was his turn to trail off as four pairs of incredulous eyes settled on him. "It is a reasonable question," he added in his own defense.  
  
"It is also an intensely personal one," Grissom added, casting a glance at Sara who was now avoiding his eyes.  
  
Sensing trouble, Catherine changed the subject back to the present issue. "When do you plan on letting Ecklie and the Sheriff know about this?"  
  
Grissom shrugged. "We thought that we would give it a few months, until Sara is obviously showing, and then confront them both."  
  
"I think that you should talk with Sheriff Mobley. First, sway him to your side, and then let Ecklie know when you have proven to the Sheriff that your relationship will not interfere with work." Catherine looked to Warrick for support, received a nod of encouragement, and continued. "Conrad will make your lives miserable when he finds out about this whole situation."  
  
"I think that Catherine is right about this." Warrick pointed to the pair with a grim smile. "If you think that having your relationship known would not have been enough for him to pounce on, then you have now given him the icing on the cake."  
  
Sara winced at the metaphor, her stomach roiling at the thought of icing. Her eyes moved slowly back to Nick, who seemed to be deep in thought, his mind preoccupied. She wanted to speak with him alone as soon as possible. Maybe when they went out on their case this evening she would find the opportunity. Grissom shifted his weight again, stood with an appreciative look at his team, then turned back towards Sara and offered her a hand. Ignoring it, Sara stood with a quick grin and said good- naturedly. "I'm not that big, Gris, not yet."  
  
"I doubt that you will get huge, Sara," Grissom said with a touch of affection that made Catherine smile and Warrick cough. Sara punched his arm before turning to Nick.  
  
"Are you ready to investigate our crime scene?"  
  
Nick shook his head, sounding irritated. "What crime scene? Did I miss the briefing?"  
  
Sara shot a warning look at Grissom, and walked towards Nick. "I stopped by Grissom's office this morning, Nick, and he informed me of the case. I'm sorry that it probably appeared that I had the inside track, I don't."  
  
Nick shuffled his feet and looked at them with a sheepish expression. "I'm ready." He turned around at the door and directed his suggestion towards Grissom. "I think that you should let Brass in on this, it couldn't hurt to have him on your side when you speak with the Sheriff."  
  
He was out of the door before anyone could reply. Sara glanced back at Grissom, and then left to find Nick.  
  
Brass was waiting at the crime scene as Grissom, Catherine, and Warrick approached. They exchanged a few words before Catherine and Warrick moved off to begin the process of evidence gathering. When Grissom did not immediately follow them, Brass spoke to him with a briskness that Grissom would normally have found amusing.  
  
"I told you everything that I know about this victim and the one and only suspect, Gil, so what else do you want to know?"  
  
"I want to speak with you in private when we get back to the lab, Jim. It is personal and I need your advice."  
  
"Personal?" Brass eyed him with undisguised amusement. "The day that Gil Grissom needs my advice is the day I stop everything to listen. Talk to me."  
  
"No, not here." Grissom nodded towards the parking lot where his team was photographing and collecting evidence. "I will talk to you later, in my office?"  
  
Brass agreed to meet him later, and then watched his old friend trudge off towards his team.  
  
Nick did not speak as they drove the half hour drive out to the crime scene. Sara wanted to ask him what he was thinking, what was going through his mind as he clutched the steering wheel. Both Warrick and Nick were like brothers to her, the siblings that she never had growing up as the highly intelligent child of outlandish parents. She had no doubt that Warrick was ecstatic for her, but what about Nick? He was the one that she felt would have been the most supportive, the one that would have grabbed her into his arms for a big hug. His approval was something that she missed, something she needed.  
  
They processed the crime scene in silence, only speaking when necessary, each lost in their thoughts as they worked the room. It was on the way back to the car that Nick finally spoke.  
  
"I really am happy for you and Gris, Sara, honest." He tapped his right knuckle on the rooftop and glanced over at her. "I'm worried about you, though."  
  
This admission startled Sara so much she had to force her mouth to close tightly. She waited for him to continue, although when he did, she wished he had not.  
  
"I think that you and Gris have a long hard road ahead of you, Sara." He stared at the top of the car and risked a glance at her face to see how angry she was with for saying that. "I know that you are perfect for each other, everyone knows that, and I truly think that you will be wonderful parents."  
  
"But you think that it will not be an easy road," Sara murmured with an amused flatness. "Is it ever an easy road, Nick? Was it easy for your parents?"  
  
"No, no." He smiled tightly. "I'm not saying that it's always easy." He turned around and leaned back against the car and stared at her with an uneasy frown. "I think that you should marry him. That would be a start."  
  
Sara raised one eyebrow and folded her arms together, locking her elbows. "I'm not marrying him because of the baby," she said with irritation. "I don't want everyone to think that I trapped him."  
  
"Get real, Sara." Nick shook his head. "Since when did you care what other people thought?"  
  
"I care what you think, Nick, and Catherine, and Warrick." She bit her lip. "I mostly care what Grissom thinks, and I don't want him to think that I'm marrying him because it was the 'right thing to do'."  
  
"You love him," Nick stated. He added, "And I know that he loves you, so what is the problem?"  
  
"Why is this so important to you?" Sara touched his hand, feeling him shiver.  
  
"I don't know." He tried to laugh it off, but felt compelled to add, "I think that it would be good for you and Grissom. Oh, forget it." He shrugged. "It's no big thing." He looked at her and smiled. "I support you, whatever you do Sara, you should know that."  
  
He reached out and pulled her to him for that big warm hug she had expected earlier.  
  
Brass was sitting in a chair opposite Grissom, when he met the other man's eyes in strict confidence. "What is bothering you, Gil?"  
  
"I've been involved in a serious relationship with someone for many months." Grissom began with a smile. "It has.progressed to a point that it is necessary to become public knowledge."  
  
Brass sorted this out in his mind, mentally examining the only two women that he knew of that Gil associated with on a continuous basis.  
  
"Catherine or Sara?" He knew that Catherine and Grissom went way back and often spent time together outside of work, but there was something between Grissom and Sara that you would have to be blind not to notice.  
  
"Sara." Grissom said the name with a soft inflection that reached his eyes, and again surprised Brass with his honesty. "She is." He searched for the correct phrase. "We are expecting a baby."  
  
The words, uttered in such a matter of fact tone, could not have stunned Brass more. "Sara is having your baby?" Brass tried to clear his thoughts, his mind reeling. "And now you want my advice?"  
  
"Catherine and Warrick want me to tell Sheriff Mobley the situation and try to keep Ecklie out of the loop for a few more months." He stared at his friend. "What do you think I should do, tell him?"  
  
"Sheriff Mobley? Of course." Brass shook his head when he thought of Ecklie. "Not Conrad, not yet." He scratched his chin, and then offered his congratulations. "I never thought that I would see the day when you would be a dad, Gil. This is priceless."  
  
"I'm glad that you are enjoying this," Grissom said dryly. "Will you go with me to speak with Mobley? Help me convince him that my team should stay intact, that we will and can continue to work together as we have been for the last few years."  
  
"Of course, Gil." Brass said with conviction, but he wanted to know more about the personal side of Grissom. "So, are you and Sara planning on buying a house?"  
  
"A house?" Grissom repeated, a dubious expression on his face. "No. We plan to turn my guest room into a nursery."  
  
"A nursery with creepy crawlers I would assume." Brass chuckled at the thought of spider webs lining the wall.  
  
"I hadn't thought of it," Grissom had a faraway look on his face as the idea began to form. "I wonder if Sara would mind having various beetles in the nursery."  
  
"Live ones, or drawings of beetles?" Brass laughed once more, and then stared at the doorway where Sara now stood. He nodded to her and offered congratulations.  
  
"What was that about beetles?" She asked with a wariness that made Brass chuckle.  
  
"Ask your boyfriend." He turned to Grissom. "When you are ready to speak with Mobley, give me a call and I'll meet you there."  
  
"Thanks, Brass, I'll give you a call later today."  
  
Alone in the office after Brass left, Sara closed the door and smiled over the desk at Grissom. "Beetles in our child's room. I think that we can work something out."  
  
Now that he had accepted the idea of being a daddy, he felt himself thinking of all of the possibilities that offered and began to smile the first heartfelt smile since Sara had broken the news. He and Sara had so much they could teach this baby, from beetles to physics. Sara froze and felt his smile shoot through like a rose opening up for the first time in the warmth of spring. It was in the instant they looked at one another that they both knew they would pull through this and come out the better because of it. Feeling his arms wrap around her waist, she was home.  
  
  
  
  
  
Epilogue  
  
The waiting room was packed with friends as Grissom stood in the doorway, his eyes lit with an excitement that his team had never witnessed. Warrick, Catherine, Nick, Brass, Sara's parents and even Lindsey clamored for the news.  
  
"Sara is wonderful." Grissom smiled, and waited for the explosion of questions to ease before he added, "And our baby is beautiful."  
  
"Grissom." A chorus of voices growled at him as he turned to escape back to the room where he had reluctantly left her side. He paused in the doorway with a baffled look. "Give us thirty minutes and you can see them." With that, he was gone and the group looked at one another and burst out laughing. They sincerely doubted that he realized he had neglected to give them the sex of the baby.  
  
"At least they are both healthy and doing wonderfully." Warrick commented, his arms wrapped around the child in front of him, who was looking upset. She smiled back at him and agreed that was the important thing, but why did Uncle Gil not tell them?  
  
Grissom scooted onto the bed next to Sara, and reached out to touch the second most beautiful face he had ever seen. His hand felt rough on the newborn skin, but the blue eyes that blinked up at him did not seem to mind.  
  
"You did a wonderful job here, Sara." He whispered, his voice breaking as he stared from her smiling face to the perfect one of their child.  
  
"We both did." Sara watched as he touched their baby's fine light brown hair, the gold band on his finger standing out in stark contrast to the baby's white skin.  
  
Fini  
  
Side Note: No, I did not give the sex of the baby because I could not decide. I like the idea of either one so I left it up to the reader to decide whichever one you like best. 


End file.
